The Red Menace

OK, the acting, direction and production values are below average. But the writing is above average and that is why this film gets a 6. I have seen several commie movies from the fifties, and most of them have better production values. However, the scripts for these often entertaining films is usually the same; the commies are the bad guys and the American government officials are the good guys; a simple case of black and white. Unfortunately, most of the things in life are not simple black and white issues. There is no pancake so flat that it does not have two sides. Instead of using stereotypes with predictable plot development and a pat ending, this film, at least, avoided half of those shortcomings. It is an intelligent look at the motives of members of the communist party in the US. The characters are complex and realistic, not cartoonish black and white characters portrayed in the vast majority of red scare films of the fifties. Even though the film had a weak conclusion, the rest of the film was very entertaining.